


Sushi requires chopsticks

by Teacupsandbutterscotch



Series: Coffee, sir? [2]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Coffee Shops, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-28
Updated: 2013-07-28
Packaged: 2017-12-21 16:30:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/902430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Teacupsandbutterscotch/pseuds/Teacupsandbutterscotch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin and Arthur go on their first date, Merlin is ignorant of all things sushi and only slightly less clumsy than usual.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sushi requires chopsticks

Merlin hated first dates. He didn’t hate the idea of them, or the thought of what might come after them; Merlin hated the awkwardness of them. It didn’t matter if you’d known the person for years, or a few hours- the first date would always be awkward.

So, as Merlin entered the sushi restaurant where he and Arthur were meeting for their date, he couldn’t help feeling nervous. Partly he wanted this date to go well because if it didn’t, then he would never be able to go to the coffee shop where Arthur worked again, and he would really miss the coffee there. But mostly he wanted it to go well because he liked Arthur. A lot. And therefore he was dreading the unavoidable awkwardness as he would probably blurt out something weird to fill the silence, and scare Arthur off.

Still, he managed to avoid the door on the way in. That was a good start at least.

Merlin made his way over to where Arthur was sitting, on a table near the back of the restaurant, threading through the various tables and chairs scattered haphazardly around the place.

‘You found the restaurant alright then?’

‘Yeah, it was fine.’ It hadn’t been fine. ‘I found it no problem.’ There were several problems: five wrong turns, two mistaken street names, and he had actually walked into an Italian restaurant by mistake at one point. Merlin was very glad he’d left half an hour early.

‘Good. Do you want to go and get food now, or shall we sit down for a bit first?’

‘We have to go get the food ourselves?’

‘Well, yes, of course. Don’t you know how a sushi restaurant works, _Mer_ lin.’

‘Well I’ve never been before.’

‘It’s ok, I’ll show you. Knight in shining armour, remember?’

‘Oh shut up. Prat.’ Merlin grinned at him, then they both looked down at the table, and there was the awkwardness Merlin had been so certain about, except, well, it wasn’t awkward. It was just comfortable.

Arthur stood up suddenly, and motioned for Merlin to follow him, then made his way to the conveyor belt of food in the middle of the room.

‘Hang on; I have to get this food off a _moving_ conveyor belt?’

‘Well yes that is rather the point.’

‘But it’s going to go everywhere! I can’t even pick up coffee without spilling it, let alone food from a _moving conveyor belt_!’

Arthur burst out laughing at the stricken expression on Merlin’s face, and then laughed even more when he started to pout.

‘Oh come on Merlin, it’s not that bad. We’ll just choose something nice and easy for you to pick up. That means nothing with too much sauce, or loose rice, or anything that slides really-‘

‘Alright, alright, shut up. Why don’t you pick mine up for me, oh knight in shining armour?’ Merlin grinned wickedly at Arthur, pointed out a dish at random, and then went to sit back down, leaving Arthur standing on his own, looking utterly confused. It was adorable, really. Although Merlin would never admit it.

Five minutes later Arthur arrived back to the table with both of their dishes.

‘You left me up there on my own!’ Arthur exclaimed, pouting. Merlin chuckled.

‘Well of course. I’d just have dropped it wouldn’t I? At least this way it made it back to the table in one piece.’

‘Shut up Merlin and eat.’

‘Where’s the cutlery?’

‘You use chopsticks for sushi Merlin! How do you not even know that?’

‘I thought it was only for Chinese food ok! Stop looking at me like that!’

Arthur just chuckled and Merlin looked down at his plate. It couldn’t be that difficult to eat with chopsticks surely, it looked so easy whenever he saw it on TV.

Apparently it was that difficult.

After countless attempts to use the chopsticks properly Merlin decided to just stab his chopsticks into his food and have done with it, while Arthur laughed so much that he almost choked on his own meal. Serves him right for laughing at me, Merlin thought, though even he had to smile, considering the mess he’d made of his food.

They stayed at the restaurant for another hour and a half, long after they had both finished eating. Merlin learnt that Arthur’s mother had died in childbirth, that his dad had wanted him to go to uni, but that Arthur had wanted to paint instead.

‘It all built up really. Little arguments and then bigger ones and eventually dad just snapped. Threw me out, hasn’t spoken to me since.’ Arthur shrugged, but Merlin could see the hurt in his eyes, in the line of his shoulders, in the opening and closing of his fist.

‘My mum raised me on her own; I’ve no idea who or where my dad is.’ Merlin said when they reached the topic of his family. Arthur looked up at that, and nodded imperceptibly. They moved onto other topics, but Merlin knew that the conversation would be carried on somewhere along the line; maybe with a bottle to help, or the cover of moonlight, or the hint that someone else could understand what it was like, to grow up one parent short.

Merlin followed Arthur out of the restaurant and into the street.  They stood on the street corner for a few seconds swaying gently into each other, enjoying the space and the open air after the cramped confines of the restaurant.

‘You know, I’ve always wanted to walk around the park at midnight.’ Arthur looked at Merlin, a smile playing on his lips, and then turned in the direction of the nearest park.

‘I would have thought, Merlin, you’d have walked through the park at midnight loads of times, as a uni student and all.’

‘Ah, let me rephrase that then. I’ve always wanted to do it sober.’ Arthur laughed at that and they carried on walking in comfortable silence.

‘Tell me about your art.’

‘I thought we already talked about it?’

‘Not really. What kind of things do you paint, what style, colour or black and white, what materials, what-‘

‘Ok, Merlin, ok, we’ll talk about my art!’ Arthur shook his head but the gesture was more fond than exasperated, and Merlin was a little frightened that he knew that after only one date. Well, not so much frightened, more, happy.

They got to the park, and sat down on a bench near to the edge of the lake in the centre. When Merlin prompted him, Arthur started describing the kind of things he liked to paint. Merlin watched the lake while he listened, fascinated by the light of the moon on the still water, broken occasionally by the ripple of a falling leaf. After a while Arthurs words were starting to run into each other and the dark of the water was blurring into the trees on the opposite banks and-

‘Merlin? Merlin, wake up you lazy sod.’

‘M’awake, leave me ‘lone.’

‘Ok, let’s get you home.’ Merlin was vaguely aware that he was moving, walking, and he was leaning on something that felt nice under his cheek.

‘Merlin, come on, you’re home. I’m not carrying you up the steps.’ Merlin shook his head against the words interrupting his sleep, until he suddenly registered what was going on and jerked properly awake with a start.

‘Arthur? What?’

‘You fell asleep at the park. Guess my art isn’t so interesting after all then.’

‘I fell asleep? I’m so sorry, I woke up really early this morning, I guess I’m more tired than I thought I was.’

‘Its fine, Merlin. You looked cute.’ Merlin looked at his shoes, embarrassed.

‘Wait, how did you know where I lived?’ He hadn’t really taken in where they were until that moment, but he looked up to his front door in confusion; he was sure he hadn’t told Arthur his address.

‘You mumbled it on the way here. I think you were sleep talking.’ Arthur laughed softly at the look on Merlin’s face, then leant forward and gently brushed his lips against Merlin’s. Merlin looked at him, then brought his hand up to Arthurs face and kissed him.

‘Not bad for a first date.’ Merlin said against Arthur’s mouth.

‘First date? Merlin, we had our first date months ago.’

‘What?’

‘The first time I sat down and drank coffee with you? That was our first date. Did you not notice that tonight wasn’t awkward at all? First dates are always awkward.’

‘Oh. Well then, if this isn’t our first date, I can do this.’ Merlin moved his hand to the back of Arthur’s neck, and kissed him again, opening his mouth against Arthurs and running his tongue against Arthurs bottom lip. Arthur opened his mouth and ran his own tongue along Merlin’s, drawing him into a deep kiss. Finally, Merlin pulled away, breathless.

‘Goodnight, Arthur.’

‘You’ll be at the coffee shop as usual?’

‘Wouldn’t miss it for the world.’


End file.
